Tag new york city

Everyday Superheroes

Originally Posted: http://sixtyminutes.ninemsn.com.au/stories/8267897/everyday-superheroes
Reporter: Allison Langdon
Producers:Stephen Rice, Julia Timms
It’s a comic book staple; a geeky, mild-mannered guy suddenly discovers he possesses super powers.
Before you can say “to the bat cave”, he’s wearing his undies on the outside and saving the world from evil.
No one really believes that happens but, as Allison Langdon discovered, super heroes really do exist.
And while they get around in some pretty outlandish costumes, these caped crusaders take their work very seriously indeed.
Story contacts:
For more information about real-life superheroes, visit:
www.reallifesuperheroes.com
www.citizenheroesthemovie.com
Full transcript:
ALLISON LANGDON: Early morning a rooftop in downtown Seattle. At my side, a masked figure keeps watch over his city. Suddenly an alarm rings out and our caped crusader springs into action. This is a job for Phoenix Jones. It’s no comic book fantasy. My costumed, crime-fighting companion is real. So too is the car thief, who’s about to get some roadside assistance, Phoenix Jones-style.
PHOENIX: What I’m doing is definitely shocking but I think it’s crazier to let people run around and just assault people and you can make a difference or make a change.
ALLISON LANGDON: The world’s most popular superheroes sprang from the pages of DC and Marvel comic books and leapt onto our cinema screens when modern special effects made it possible to create their astounding superpowers. But recently, in movies like ‘Kick Ass’, we’ve seen a new breed of crime-fighter. Ordinary people taking the law into their own hands and it’s inspired a growing number of self-proclaimed “super-heroes” like Phoenix Jones to do the same. Do you think you make a difference?
PHONEIX: Absolutely, in the city of Seattle for sure. And you know people ask me if I’m making a worldwide impact and I say not yet, but I’m on my way.
ALLISON LANGDON: Phoenix doesn’t have special powers or even permission to fight crime. But despite the very real danger, there’s a growing league of these characters striding the streets of America in capes and masks, believing they can make the world a better place.
NYX: My name is Nyx. I’m a real life superhero and I patrol New York City.
DC’S GUARDIAN: Communities aren’t safe any more. It’s people not being able to walk down the street without being mugged. That’s wrong.
CRIMSON FIST: I’m one guy, I can’t save the world but I’d like to inspire the world to save itself. A lot of people doing it will make a difference.
ALLISON LANGDON: Do you feel like you’re a better person when you wear this outfit?
LIFE: Definitely, you know, when I put on the mask and when I put on the tie and everything like that I do feel empowered. I think maybe a lot like when a policeman affixes a badge or a priest puts on his collar.
ALLISON LANGDON: Meet Life. Recently, he formed a dynamic duo with Dark Guardian, patrolling the mean streets of New York. Armed with nothing more than truth, justice and cool costumes, they sought out and confronted drug dealers.
LIFE: It’s definitely very scary because these people are armed; these people have been to jail for violent offences. You’re messing with their business. So yeah, it gets hairy, it gets hairy.
ALLISON LANGDON: On this night at least, good conquered evil. The dealer eventually moved his business off the street. Shade and his crime-fighting team face that same New York vermin every night. But they come prepared. When you go out on patrol, do you carry weapons?
SHADE: I would actually carry this with me.
ALLISON LANGDON: Really, what you are doing, shouldn’t that be left to the police?
SHADE: If the police did their job, we wouldn’t have to. Someone’s gotta do something, right?
ALLISON LANGDON: Handling a weapon is one thing, but when you design your own super-costumes, you also quickly learn new skills. So this is very impressive. We’ve got a superhero who fights crime and can sew.
SHADE: When people to get to know me, I’m a teddy bear.
ALLISON LANGDON: Meantime, at a secret location at the rear of a dingy comic book store Phoenix Jones suits up. Like any good superhero, he closely guards his true identity as a father of two. Each night, amid the comic book covers, he transforms from a mild-mannered child-care worker to crime-fighting crusader. So we’ve done the leaping tall buildings. And before you can say “to the bat-poles”, he’s in hot pursuit of another evil-doer. Of course, Phoenix Jones is not really a man of steel. His utility belt might be equipped with tasers, zip-tie handcuffs and mace spray, but under the mask, there’s a mere mortal. And those on the streets aren’t always as easily intimidated as their comic book cousins.
PHONEIX: I’ve had a few injuries. I’ve been stabbed a couple of times. I got shot once. Hit with a baseball bat, ah.
ALLISON LANGDON: But Phoenix gets little sympathy from the local police. In Seattle, you won’t find Commissioner Gordon reaching for the bat phone.
MARK JAMIESON: I would not call him a crime fighter. Not at all, no. The police are the crime fighters.
ALLISON LANGDON: In fact Detective Mark Jamieson would prefer it, if Phoenix – and his mates – just kept their costumes for Halloween.
PHONEIX: The police have actually asked me to stop doing what I’m doing and when they said that I thought you guys are really missing it. If a guy can walk around in a gold suit dressed like a superhero and actually find crime, like I’m literally finding criminals doing felonies, where are the police, like why are you guys letting that happen?
MARK JAMIESON: It may have just been an argument, a couple of guys yelling at each other because they’re drunk, but now Phoenix and his friends turn up saying, stop, stop and they get assaulted, and now we have a crime.
ALLISON LANGDON: Sounds like they make your job a lot harder?
MARK JAMIESON: Definitely, there is the potential of escalating a situation.
ALLISON LANGDON: Are they vigilantes?
MARK JAMIESON: It could be perceived that way, yeah.
ALLISON LANGDON: The cops say that you’re a vigilante.
PHONEIX: Yeah which is weird you know. A vigilante goes out, sees crime and exacts his own revenge whereas I come up and I hold you to the standards that the police and the citizens voted for.
ALLISON LANGDON: But away from the mean streets of the big city in a faraway castle we found a different kind of superhero. The one who calls himself Sir Ivan.
SIR IVAN: Welcome, welcome to the castle!
ALLISON LANGDON: Nice to meet you, Sir Ivan. I’m really getting the royal treatment!
SIR IVAN: Well I want you to feel like a princess today!
ALLISON LANGDON: Ivan’s the son of a billionaire banker, living the good life in the Hamptons who, when the mood takes him becomes Peace Man. So where does Sir Ivan become Peace Man?
SIR IVAN: Good question – I’m about to answer that.
ALLISON LANGDON: I should have known he’d have a batcave. Of course! The secret entrance and his own version of Robin. Peace Man and your trusty side-kick, come here, come here. Oh, good gracious. Peace Man believes he’s saving the world through music. He’s pumped his vast fortune into his own record label. His grand plan is to end all wars in Africa through his music. Other real life superheros, they go out and they fight crime, they feed the homeless. You don’t do that, do you?
SIR IVAN: I am saving people’s lives. I can mean the difference between life and death. My cheque.
ALLISON LANGDON: But Phoenix Jones and many like him, are taking this whole superhero business very seriously. He claims to have 28 arrests under his belt.
MARK JAMIESON: I’d be surprised if it were that high.
ALLISON LANGDON: Nevertheless the good citizens of Seattle seem to have embraced the idea.
PHOENIX: They called me a folk hero and it’s come down to kind of a I don’t know without sounding egotistical, like a batman-esque quality. People are really excited to come see it.
ALLISON LANGDON: The ladies especially seem to like a crime-fighter in uniform.
GIRL FLIRTING: Very nice to meet you. Where are you from, Phoenix Jones?
PHONEIX: Seattle area. We’re gonna go look for criminals, but it was good meeting you, Jessica?
ALLISON LANGDON: So there are perks to being a superhero?
PHOENIX: Well kind of. I mean I’m married with two kids so there’d be perks for a younger person I think.
ALLISON LANGDON: But if you really want to snare a superhero, why not use one of their own super-weapons designed to entangle a villain’s fleeing feet. My turn.
PHONEIX: Alright, let’s do it.
ALLISON LANGDON: Let’s make it interesting – run away, be afraid, be very afraid. Brings down Phoenix Jones! Rest easy citizens. Phoenix Jones was unhurt and lives to fight crime another day.
PHOENIX: I’m just lucky this covers the blushing part of my face. It’s terrible!
ALLISON LANGDON: What does your family say about what you do?
PHOENIX: My kids love it. They’re always blowing my secret identity, it’s kinda terrible.
ALLISON LANGDON: What do you say to them when you go out at night?
PHOENIX: I tell them this is the only thing that daddy can think of to make the world better, and I give them a kiss and I tell them I’ll see them when I get back.

Superheroes roam New York’s streets

Originally posted: http://ca.news.yahoo.com/blogs/good-news/superheroes-roam-york-streets-182905295.html
By Nadine Bells
Real-life crime fighters are gaining quite the reputation on the streets of New York City.
They’ve inspired a documentary and a book. The NY Press featured them as a cover story. And now the BBC has spent a night on the streets with the masked avengers.
Like Batman before them, the New York Initiative patrols Gotham’s streets late at night, keeping an eye on “the notorious South Bronx projects, looking for troublemakers and their victims.”
Their presence, they claim, deters public drug deals in the area:
“They’ll see us and take off running,” Samaritan Prime, the alter-ego of an otherwise anonymous New Yorker, told the BBC. “They go to the dark corners that all insects retreat to.”
The masked group — likening itself to “a community block watch or safety patrol” — has patrolled the West Village for muggers, and last year vowed to protect sex workers from the Long Island Serial Killer.
Nitro, Shortcut, Zero, Samaritan Prime and Battlestar are a few of the heroes comprising The New York Initiative (NYI), a splinter group in the worldwide Real Life Superheroes (RLSHs) movement.
The NYI wields weapons — legal and creative ones, such as mouth organs and metal torches — but insists that violence is a last resort, used to protect the innocent.
“I don’t do this to punish the wicked but to protect their victims,” Deaths Head Moth says. “But some people just don’t take kindly to being politely asked to stop what they’re doing.”
Authorities aren’t on-board with civilians taking crime-fighting into their own hands. But Zero criticizes the police’s lack of support, pointing out that cops “don’t show up” when they’re needed most.
Zero has been outspoken on his dislike of the word “superhero,” preferring instead the term “X-ALT,” referring to the personality type known as “extreme altruism.”
A study on the psychopathy of heroism says that “X-altruists are compelled to good, even when doing so makes no sense and brings harm upon them.”
Samaritan Prime also shrugs off any perceived self-importance:
“I’m just a guy in a suit,” he says. “But I’m trying to do what we should all do, which is make life better for everyone.”

Real-Life Superheroes Now Patrolling The South Bronx

Originally posted: http://gothamist.com/2011/05/12/real-life_superheroes_now_patrollin.php
By Ben Yakas

New York Initative

New York Initative


Between the NY Press cover story last year, the documentary Superheroes and the book, “Heroes in the Night: Inside the Real Life Superhero Movement,” the group of real-life superheroes known as the New York Initiative have been getting a lot of press lately. Though we have yet to see them in person ourselves, the BBC followed them around recently on one of their missions, and it sounded mighty…real: “Tonight, NYI members are patrolling the notorious South Bronx projects, looking for troublemakers and their victims.”
The group, which includes costumed members Zero, Short Cut, Samaritan Prime, Battlestar, Nitro and Deaths Head, arm themselves with weapons (including a long metal torch that can be used as a club), and they have “martial arts trainers and practitioners on the team.” They gave the BBC an idea of the kinds of cases they’ve handled: We find drunks fighting out, domestic abuse, a robbery, anything like that…I stopped a rape once. A couple of guys were taking a drunk girl home with them. They were talking about all the stuff they were going to do to her. I came up and I told them to get away from her,” said Deaths Head Moth.
The BBC seem kind of clueless about their origins—they say at one point, “Crime fighting Hollywood film Kick-Ass is based on them,” which is not true, seeing as how the movie is based on the comic series…but perhaps they meant that the real-life superheroes were inspired by the film. The Brooklyn-based group released a statement on intent on Craigslist late last year, in which they vowed to protect sex workers from the Long Island Serial Killer, but on their regularly-updated Facebook page, they say that they’ve also been patrolling the West Village for muggers.
The group has called their exploits like “a community block watch or safety patrol,” but police haven’t been as supportive of their antics: “Block watch? Naw, fuhgetabout that. You’ll get shot. The guys in this neighborhood, they’ll shoot you and no one will tell us who did it. There’s a strong ‘no snitching’ rule out here,” one officer told NY Press. At least none of them are dressed up like Batman:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OKv3b9Oi4xA

Now superheroes step in to help protect prostitutes from the Craigslist killer

Originally posted:  http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1379952/Now-superheroes-step-help-protect-prostitutes-Craigslist-killer.html#ixzz1KaKAQTgU
By Daily Mail Reporter

Crime fighter: Vigilantes from the New York Initiative have offered to protect hookers from the Craigslist killer

Crime fighter: Vigilantes from the New York Initiative have offered to protect hookers from the Craigslist killer


Self-styled superheroes have offered their help in fighting the serial killer thought to be behind the murders of over a dozen prostitutes in New York City.
The New York Initiative (NYI) – a group of vigilantes who model themselves on comic book superheroes – have posted an advert on classified ads website Craigslist offering ‘rescue teams’ for hookers whose clients’ turn violent.
NYI, who identify themselves as a group of ‘martial arts trainers, security specialists, emergency first responders, drug counsellors, former military police and former law enforcement’, are also offering free martial arts and weapons training to the women.
The murderer stalking New York – dubbed the Craiglist Killer because he targets women selling sex through Craigslist – is thought to be behind the deaths up to 13 prostitutes.
Most of the bodies so far found had been dumped in scrub land on the southern coast of Long Island, New York. All had been strangled and stuffed in burlap sacks.
According to their advert, NYI have offered their help to prostitutes because ‘apparently the law doesn’t respect your personal choices and that means cops are slower to follow through when it comes to you.’
The group is offering ‘a number to call and a few one-number or one-word codes you can say or text to us so that we can contact someone to assist you with a possibly violent date.’
They add: ‘We will react quickly and without hesitation every time, using our considerable contacts to the full extent of their reach.’ And they promise not to involve the police unless there is a risk of ‘serious danger’.
The New York Initiative patrol the streets of Brooklyn and Manhattan by night, attempting to deter crime.
Though they are loosely affiliated with the so-called Real Life Superheroes, unlike their more colourfully-dressed counterparts they tend not to wear masks and capes.
Shade

Superheroes Shade is part of the ‘rapid response teams’ offering their help to New York City’s frightened ladies of the night


According to their website the group is composed of 11 members, with roles ranging from medic to combat specialist.
‘Our primary goal will always be to help those in the most need to the highest ethical standard and to the maximum effect,’ they say.
The ‘Craigslist ripper’ case started in December after the disappearance of 24-year-old Shannan Gilbert, a New Jersey prostitute who advertised on the site.
Although her body has not been found, the remains of 10 others have so far been uncovered with Maureen Brainard-Barnes, 25, Melissa Barthelemy, 24, Amber Lynn Costello, 27, and  Megan Waterman, 22, the only identified victims so far.
Detectives have also investigated the possibility that the same serial killer may also be responsible for the deaths of  four prostitutes in Atlantic city in 2006.
New York detectives have begun to piece together a picture of the Craigslist killer.
According to experts, the man police are looking for is a white male in his mid 20’s to mid 40’s,  financially secure, well spoken and drives a nice car or truck.
Able to charm his victims into a false sense of security, he will also have access to burlap sacks as part of his job and will have been treated for poison ivy infections received as he disposed of the bodies in thick undergrowth.

NYC Superheroes: How to Not Get Murdered by the Long Island Serial Killer

Originally posted: http://blogs.villagevoice.com/runninscared/2011/04/nyc_superheroes.php
By Joe Coscarelli,
The New York Initiative, a local chapter of the Worldwide Real Life Superhero Community, describe themselves as a “free public security/community watch/community outreach program” working “to achieve peacekeeping objectives and humanitarian missions.” The vigilante crime fighters state that their “primary goal will always be to help those most in need to the highest ethical standards and to maximum effect.” They pick projects based on “unfolding events” and now, that means the Long Island serial killer thought to be responsible for the deaths of at least four, but as many as fourteen people already. Four of the identified victims, as well as four dead women found in New Jersey back in 2006, all worked as prostitutes on Craigslist, so the New York Initiative have taken to that site’s personals section with tips on how to avoid being next. What the hell, you may be thinking; it gets wackier, but it also makes some sense.
“We are doing this because we feel that law enforcement does not recognize these women as a priority,” the group explained in a press release. “We are taking steps to directly aid potential victims in hopes of preventing further murders by the Long Island Killer, as well as offering an ongoing system to prevent further violence against people at risk.” That’s actually a pretty rational explanation.
To the killer (or killers!) the group has this to say: “You have far overstepped a basic human boundary; you have claimed lives to feed your pitiful base desires. Unfortunately for you, no amount of pity is going to stop us.” That sounds slightly nuttier.
But the Initiative’s full ad on Craigslist, aimed at escorts, whom the group sees as potential victims, is amusing in its detail. Basically, they’re proposing that women take extra precautions when they go on a date, making sure to tell a friend all of the details. If a friend isn’t an option, the New York Initiative is volunteering to be every working woman’s “personal log book” in an attempt to help keep them safe.
“The Long Island Killer is out there,” the ad reads. “He’s a scary bastard, and it’s starting to seem like he is focusing on you pretty ladies because some people are slower to report you missing, and also because apparently the law doesn’t respect your personal choices and that means cops are slower to follow through when it comes to you.”
Here’s the full ad (sic throughout):

Hello, pretty lady!I’m writing you on behalf of a group called the New York Initiative (We are not affiliated with law enforcement), and with the hopes that I’ve created a system that will help keep you safe when you go on dates! You can find our facebook page through Google, as well as Google us with the words New York Press or Superheroes Documentary 2011 to find out what we’re about (Craigslist doesn’t allow me to post our URL)…yes, we look a little funny, but believe me when I say that we are all quite competent and capable of doing the things we say.
So with that out of the way, let me just get down to business… The Long Island Killer is out there. He’s a scary bastard, and it’s starting to seem like he is focusing on you pretty ladies because some people are slower to report you missing, and also because apparently the law doesn’t respect your personal choices and that means cops are slower to follow through when it comes to you. Well, I’m here to say FUCK THAT. We respect you as human beings, we believe in personal freedoms and think that you’re doing something that is absolutely your choice to do.
So rock on, ladies…We are on your side. With that said, we are here to help.
In lieu of this, I have devised two systems that will keep you safe… both law-enforcement free, but one meant specifically for you to do on your own, with a friend, and the other which offers our very distinct and unusual services (free of charge, of course).
OPTION 1: Whenever you have a date, make sure a friend knows the address you’re going. Have them write it down in a book made specifically for this purpose, with the times and dates included. If you can, when on the date, text your friend with the address you are at or the general area in case your date takes you somewhere else than he had earlier specified , and let your date know that a friend knows exactly where you’ll be if he starts to get “funny”.
Give your friend hourly updates on your location so if anything goes wrong, they can send someone to help you faster. We realize that this could alter the mood of your date, but in these crazy times, a pretty lady that’s ready is a pretty lady that’s alive. If your date watches the news at all, he will understand. Be wary if he doesn’t.
OPTION 2.If you absolutely don’t have a friend to help you with this, you may use the services of the New York Initiative as your personal log book, as well as your rescue team in the event of an emergency. If you choose to do this, we will provide you with a number to call and a few one-number or one word codes you can say or text to us so that we can contact someone to assist you with a possibly violent date. Another idea is keeping us on speed dial, and if things get weird just call us and let the line open. We’ll know what’s going on immediately.
We also have other techniques which we can explain to you after confirmation via phone.
We will react quickly and without hesitation every time, using our considerable contacts to the full extent of their reach.
We also want to extend to you our services as the NYI: Namely, practical martial arts training free of charge, as well as improvised weapons training free of charge (i.e. pens, phones, keys)…Add to this basic to advanced survival skills, or pretty much anything else you want to know about that will keep you safe out there.
We care about you. We want you alive, in this world, just like everyone else. Because you’re a human being, and you are deserving of love. The NYI loves you, and we’re here to bust the asses of any asshole trying to hurt you.
This is just one of the ways we can get the Long Island Killer off the streets, as well as make what you do safer.
Let me say one more time that we won’t involve law enforcement unless you are in serious danger. The logs will be kept personal and private, because what do the police need to know about your personal life, right? It’s just a date, for cryin’ out loud.
Be safe out there, whatever you choose. You are no longer alone.
-Zero and the New York Initiative
P.S. If you have any other ideas that we can help with to keep you safe out there, don’t be afraid to ask!

NYI helping stop the Long Island Serial Killer

http://newyork.craigslist.org/mnh/cas/2329212396.html

To all Ladies: Free Protection and Safety System, (Long Island Killer) – m4w – 29 (NYC)

Hello, pretty lady!
I’m writing you on behalf of a group called the New York Initiative (We are not affiliated with law enforcement), and with the hopes that I’ve created a system that will help keep you safe when you go on dates! You can find our facebook page through Google, as well as Google us with the words New York Press or Superheroes Documentary 2011 to find out what we’re about (Craigslist doesn’t allow me to post our URL)…yes, we look a little funny, but believe me when I say that we are all quite competent and capable of doing the things we say.
So with that out of the way, let me just get down to business… The Long Island Killer is out there. He’s a scary bastard, and it’s starting to seem like he is focusing on you pretty ladies because some people are slower to report you missing, and also because apparently the law doesn’t respect your personal choices and that means cops are slower to follow through when it comes to you. Well, I’m here to say FUCK THAT. We respect you as human beings, we believe in personal freedoms and think that you’re doing something that is absolutely your choice to do.
So rock on, ladies…We are on your side. With that said, we are here to help.
In lieu of this, I have devised two systems that will keep you safe… both law-enforcement free, but one meant specifically for you to do on your own, with a friend, and the other which offers our very distinct and unusual services (free of charge, of course).
OPTION 1: Whenever you have a date, make sure a friend knows the address you’re going. Have them write it down in a book made specifically for this purpose, with the times and dates included. If you can, when on the date, text your friend with the address you are at or the general area in case your date takes you somewhere else than he had earlier specified , and let your date know that a friend knows exactly where you’ll be if he starts to get “funny”.
Give your friend hourly updates on your location so if anything goes wrong, they can send someone to help you faster. We realize that this could alter the mood of your date, but in these crazy times, a pretty lady that’s ready is a pretty lady that’s alive. If your date watches the news at all, he will understand. Be wary if he doesn’t.
OPTION 2.If you absolutely don’t have a friend to help you with this, you may use the services of the New York Initiative as your personal log book, as well as your rescue team in the event of an emergency. If you choose to do this, we will provide you with a number to call and a few one-number or one word codes you can say or text to us so that we can contact someone to assist you with a possibly violent date. Another idea is keeping us on speed dial, and if things get weird just call us and let the line open. We’ll know what’s going on immediately.
We also have other techniques which we can explain to you after confirmation via phone.
We will react quickly and without hesitation every time, using our considerable contacts to the full extent of their reach.
We also want to extend to you our services as the NYI: Namely, practical martial arts training free of charge, as well as improvised weapons training free of charge (i.e. pens, phones, keys)…Add to this basic to advanced survival skills, or pretty much anything else you want to know about that will keep you safe out there.
We care about you. We want you alive, in this world, just like everyone else. Because you’re a human being, and you are deserving of love. The NYI loves you, and we’re here to bust the asses of any asshole trying to hurt you.
This is just one of the ways we can get the Long Island Killer off the streets, as well as make what you do safer.
Let me say one more time that we won’t involve law enforcement unless you are in serious danger. The logs will be kept personal and private, because what do the police need to know about your personal life, right? It’s just a date, for cryin’ out loud.
Be safe out there, whatever you choose. You are no longer alone.
-Zero and the New York Initiative
P.S. If you have any other ideas that we can help with to keep you safe out there, don’t be afraid to ask!
You can contact the New York Initiative at [email protected]
and on facebook www.facebook.com/NYInitiative
 

Real Life Super Heroes on the Streets of SF

Originally Posted: http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/Real-Life-Superheroes-Patrol-the-Streets-of-San-Francisco-118882514.html?rr=td
By Mathew Luschek
Justin Juul over at the Bold Italic spent a night hanging out on the streets of San Francisco, with some Real Life Super Heroes.

Photo by Peter Tangen

Photo by Peter Tangen


No really. The Real Life Super Hero movement started in 2008, shortly after the “Kick-Ass” comic book was released. The organization is a collection of everyday citizens who don super hero costumes, and roam their city looking for crime.
Believe it or not there are over 250 of these brave folks worldwide. There’s Axle Grinder Man in London, Nyx, a female hero in New York, and here in San Francisco Motor Mouth and his crew which includes Nightbug and Justified.
As you browse the Real Life Super Hero page, you can check out the costumes some of these cats have constructed. Some are rather impressive, like the one Death’s Head Moth wears as he patrols an unnamed city in Virginia.
And these people are serious about what they do. Motor Mouth has been threatened and beat up doing his part to rid the streets of crime. In Juul’s article, he describes walking the streets of the Tenderloin in the middle of the night, approaching crackheads and running into the police (who don’t care for the masked method of crime-fighting.)
“Our relationship with the police department is tenuous at best,” Motor Mouth said.
Photo by Peter Tangen

Photo by Peter Tangen


While you’re thinking what I’m thinking, “These guys are gonna get killed,” they do take some precautions. Motor Mouth, for instance carries a pocketknife, mace and a pair of Blast Knuckles which are like brass knuckles but with a 950,000 volt taser built in.
Maybe they’re just over-zealous comic book fans, but they do seem to do some good. So if you see a group of caped crusaders walking the streets, don’t heckle them, because they just might save your life one day.
Juul’s full article at the Bold Italic
The Real Life Super Hero website

Russian News Article

Originally posted: http://akzia.ru/subtext/616.html
English Translation
The Real Life Superhero Project – a project of the American photographer Peter Tangen about ordinary people, donning a superhero costume to correct deficiencies in our society. Peter Tangen did photography for such films as “Spider-Man” and “Batman” with Christian Bale, so the phenomenon of “real superheroes” it is very inspired. The photographer wants to create a full series of posters of conventional superheroes in North America, to draw public attention to the fact that these people do. Perhaps it is because of these pictures people will discover the heroes within themselves. From the works of Peter Tangen can be found at reallifesuperheroes.com .
Photo: Peter Tangen
zimmerportrait
Name: Zimmer (Zimmer)
City: Austin, Texas, then New York
Occupation: patrol the streets without a mask and does not hide his real name, worked in the ambulance.  After a serious accident, was left with partial paralysis of his hands, but did not leave his job.
Zimmer supports MagicCamp ( magiccamp.reachlocal.com ).
knightowlportrait
Name: Knight owl (Knight Owl)
City: Vancouver, Washington
Occupation: daytime running paramedics, night patrolling the streets, distributing medicine, began writing a guide for the superhero.
Knight Owl supports the organization Heifer ( heifer.org ).
Photo: Peter Tangen
geistportrait
Name: Guyst (Geist)
City: Rochester, Minnesota
Occupation: calling himself a “green space cowboy” patrolling the streets, punishing illegal graffiti and helps the hungry and homeless, armed with slingshots, and baton.
Guyst supports Ronald McDonald Charitable Foundation in Rochester ( mhmn.org ).
Photo: Peter Tangen
9f1685d1e091e6dc9cdc13eaa4c80417
Name: Super Hero (Superhero)
City: Clearwater, Florida
Occupation: former wrestler, now owner of online store gym equipment, founded the “Team Justice” – the first non-profit organization for the “real superheroes” in the U.S..
Superhero support charities metromin.org and christopherreeve.org .
Photo: Peter Tangen
nyxportrait
Name: Nyx (Nyx)
City: New York, NY
Occupation: helping homeless and drug addicts, in his first patrol went to 16 years.
Nix supports the National Association of the Deaf ( nad.org ).

Superheroes Among Us

Jill Smolowe and Howard Breuer with reporting by Kathy Ehrich Dowd

Photo by Pierre Elle de Pibrac

Photo by Pierre Elle de Pibrac


Slower than an speeding Bullet, they patrol city streets, hoping to lend a hand, inspire compassion and even thwart crime
She finds her work as an accountant “a boring 9-to-5 job.” But many an evening after Irene Thomas, 21, returns to her cramped 400-sq.-ft attic apartment in a town in Bergen County, N.J., she slips into a black catsuit, accessories with a red belt, red gloves and boots, and sometimes also dons a mask. When she emerges in her Honda Accord on the Manhattan side of the Lincoln Tunnel, she is Nyx, her namesake a Greek goddess of the night. While she might patrol the streets looking for anything out of the ordinary, her immediate mission is distributing food and clothes to the homeless. And she has another goal: to call attention to her actions so that “other people notice and are maybe motivated to help too.”
She is not alone. From New York City to Seattle, scores of costumed crusaders have joined the superhero movement. While their aims aren’t always unified- some cater to the needy while others are bent on thwarting crime- most of them share a desire to stomp out citizen apathy by modeling “superhero” virtues. “I just feel like I’m walking no air after I’ve helped 30 people,” says Chaim “Life” Lazaros, 26, a production manager by day, who wears a mask and fedora (a la Green Hornet) when he takes to New York’s streets at night. The superheroes, who range from dishwashers to Fortune 500 execs, cut across political, religious and age lines and are often comic book geeks, says Tea Krulos, who blogs about the phenomenon. “They don’t want to admit it, [but] it’s fun to dress up.”
Not everyone is impressed by their derring-do. On a recent night in San Francisco’s Haight-Ashbury district, a teenage homeless girl only smirked when Motor Mouth, a ninja like fixture of the San Francisco Bay Area’s streets, handed her a bag of food. Unfazed, Motor Mouth (who refuses to give his real name) says he doesn’t mind “a million people snickering behind my back as long as there is the possibility to help.”
The costumed do-gooders, who pack nothing more lethal than first-aid kits and benign intentions, get high marks from the police. “Any time a citizen gets involved- great,” says Det. Renee Witt of the Seattle police department. Others, like Seattle superhero Phoenix Jones, 22, have crated a stir by being brazen crime fighters. In recent months Phoenix Jones claims he has interrupted knife fights, helps catch drug dealers and has been stabbed. Certainly he’s sparked discussion among his peers about boundaries. “If we see the police are already there, our philosophy is the matter has been addressed,” says Seattle’s White Baron. Most self-styled superheroes are well aware they can’t fly or outrun speeding bullets. “If you life this kind of life,” says Motor Mouth, 30, “you can’t take yourself entirely seriously.”

darkguardianportrait
Dark Guardian
By Day: Martial-arts instructor, 26
Superhero Duty: Chases drug dealers
City: New York
His efforts to clean Manhattan’s Washing Square Park of drug deales do not always impress local police
nyxportrait
Nyx
By Day: Accountant, 21
Superhero Target: The homeless
City: New York
She’s given up on chasing drug dealers “Its just really fun to jump into a costume and help people,” she says.
dcportrait
DC Guardian
By Day: Government worker, mid-40s
Superhero Virtue: Patriotism
City: Washington, D.C.
Active in charity work, this Air Force vet also hands out American flags and talks tourist about the U.S. Constitution.
motormouthportrait
Motor Mouth
By Day: Special-education teacher, 30
Superhero Goal: Thwarting crime
City: San Francisco Bay Area
He says his attempts to “be at the right place at the right time” have included stopping a man from beating his wife.
life
Life
By Day: Production manager, 26
Superhero Inspiration: His parents
City: New York
“Even something little like a razor blade” for a clean shave before a job interview, he says, “is a big deal” to the homeless
phantomzeroportrait
Phantom Zero
By Day: Computer technician, 34
Superhero Style: Teamwork
City: New York
Nyx’s street partner (and live-in boyfriend), he delivers clothes to women’s shelters and feeds feeds people.

Smolowe, Jill, Howard Breuer, and Kathy E. Dowd. “Superheroes Among Us.” People Magazine 75.11 (2011): 92-94. Print.

Real Life Superheroes Patrol Our City Streets

Originally posted: http://www.opposingviews.com/i/real-life-superheroes-patrol-our-city-streets
nyxportrait
By Mark Berman Opposing Views

(2 Hours Ago) in Society

The next time you need help, you may get it from a real life superhero. A group of people calling themselves, oddly enough, the Real Life Superhero Project takes to the streets of U.S. cities, helping out the needy.
People magazine reports that members want to reduce citizen apathy by exhibiting “superhero” virtues and encourage others to do the same.
The group’s Web site writes:
So who are these modern day heroes? They are our neighbors, our friends, our family members. They are artists, musicians, athletes, and yes, politicians. Their actions serve as reminders that as most giving today has become reactive—digital and removed, temporarily soothing our guilt and feelings of helplessness—we have blinded ourselves to simple principles and practice of compassion and goodwill.
According to a report in the Daily Mail, 21-year-old Irene Thomas is one of them. By day she is a self-described “boring accountant” in New Jersey. At night she is “Nyx,” patrolling the streets of New York City wearing a black catsuit and mask with a red belt, gloves and boots.
She gives food and clothes to the homeless, and hopes “other people notice and are maybe motivated to help too.”
New York production manager Chaim Lazaros’s alter-ego is “Life,” wearing a black hat, mask and waistcoat.
‘I just feel like I’m walking on air after I’ve helped 30 people,’ he told People.
The ninja-like “Motor Mouth” calls San Francisco home. He generally gets a positive response, but one teenage homeless girl smirked when he handed her a bag of food.
“(I don’t mind) if a million people snickering behind my back as long as there is the possibility to help,” he said. He added, “if you live this kind of life, you can’t take yourself entirely seriously.”